Hello! About to start 5% Minoxidil - any advise grateful!

[cloudzero2006]

Hi guys,

Let me start by introducing myself as a 26 year old male, who has recently been confirmed to have MPB I've always had thin hair, but it's only been the last 6 months or so where i've noticed I can see my scalp more when looking in the mirror, and also a few people have made comments about my hair which caused me to be paranoid enough to visit the Belgravia Centre in London to seek some advise.
They confirmed it was male pattern baldness and when seeing the photos that were taken, it was quite a shock to me on how thin the top of my head was in areas. I was told if I start the Minoxdil i'd get good results so i've paid for 6 months of the 5% liquid to see if i can see results after that.

However, now i've received the treatment i've yet to start. I'm quite paranoid about the shedding stage, the hair specialist confirmed this is all good as the treatment is working and that it tends to last a few months, but I just wanted to know HOW noticeable is it?? I understand it will vary per person but i'm paranoid the shedding will make me look horrendous to others I dont notice any hair loss at all like some do, eg in the shower, on my pillow and usually I can run my hands through my hair a good few times without no hairs appearing on my hand, though sometimes i've noticed literally one small hair.

Also, are the results of using the 5% minoxidil really as good as what i've read from posts on here?

Any help or advise is greatly appreciated!!

[JonDoe101]

I personally didn't have any shedding when i started rogaine. In fact, I had bad shedding before I started rogaine.
While I am personally at a crossroads on rogaine, to a person who hasn't signed themselves into the hidden contract of using rogaine, i'd say its not worth it, even if you are balding.
It's a lot of money especially for the real stuff, money you could save towards a hair transplant. It is really tedious, and really has emasculated my routine. I can't just brush and jump in bed, or just shower and head off to work. Now I have to do this shit 5 minutes a day, wash my hands, and wipe drippings off of my face. It also makes traveling and spending time at girls houses a chore, I stress that I cannot bring my rogaine or that I need to hide it and use it without others seeing.

Im gonna say don't do it. Especially if you have to apply it to your whole head, not just a target area.

[cloudzero2006]

Hmm, I can see where you're coming from - why do you think it's not worth it?
I agree it's alot of money, and in the long run I guess a transplant would work out more cost effective but sometimes they dont always go to plan I've heard?
Understand the routine will be a pain too, but having a read online some people can miss a few days applying the liquid and it doesnt matter, so if you were to be at a girls house or whatever I guess you can skip that morning/evening?

Do you have any other personal experiences you can share?

[Zdude]

I have positive experience using Minoxidil.

As for your question regarding the shedding period, it was extremely noticeable for me. I was losing enough hair that I managed to block the shower drain. This shedding stage lasted about a month and it took a couple months for me to start seeing major improvement in the thickness of my hair after the fact - as for the routine, it's something you have to get used to, but if you're committed to it like brushing your teeth twice a day (once in the morning, once before bed) then you'll be totally, utterly fine.

I would recommend shaving your hair short and avoiding jumping in a lake / public pool for the few months of shedding (assuming you even get it). It makes the temporary hair-loss way, way less embarrassing (it looked a lot like I was thinning a lot in the front and the thinning at the back / top of my head became really noticeable).

If you're at the stage that other people are mentioning your hair-loss without prompting, I would definitely consider taking Minoxidil. That's what pushed me toward going ahead and taking what I initially saw as a witch-doctor medicine.

Once you get over the shedding period, it's nothing but improvement IMO.

Do you mind if you post a photo of your hairline / thinning area?

Here are pics of my experience (after five months of using it), that way you get a feel for how well you can expect it to work - it's not a miracle cure, it won't give your 16 year old hairline back, no way in hell - but it's fixed things enough that I don't cringe at what used to be a Mr T mohawk thing whenever I look in the mirror, so that's a major improvement IMO. Heh.

https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/threads/24411-Early-hairloss?p=238548&highlight=#post238548

[JonDoe101]

Wow you definitely did have some noticeable improvement, Zdude. Did you only use rogaine?
Also, how long have you been using rogaine, and what type of rogaine do you use (brand & foam or liquid)?

I don't mean to dissuade anyone, rogaine can work, and it definitely does work on the crown, I just am not enjoying it. The regrowth I have achieved to me hasn't been enough to balance out the cost and the chore of it's application and maintenance. Then again, rogaine for me might have also really slowed my loss without me noticing, its so hard to tell.

[Zdude]

I used Rogaine (brand, foam) for the first month. I couldn't justify the price difference, though - and decided to change to the liquid instead.

Pulling out receipts -

Foam Price (3 month supply): $124.99 AU / Chemist Warehouse
Liquid Price (4 month supply): $107.69 AU / Chemist Warehouse

I recently ordered a new brand for a much cheaper price (Foligain.P5), though.

Foligain - Liquid (12 month supply): $111.20 AU / BIOVEA

I will see how that brand goes, of course.

As for all the products I have been using: along with minoxidil, I have been taking supplements (Biotin 300mcg and Saw Palmetto 3200). The Biotin I have been taking 1 /day. The Saw Palmetto I have been taking 2 /day. I haven't been taking the Saw Palmetto for the past month, though - ran out, didn't bother ordering more because I have always been pretty iffy about its legitimacy. I am still a bit iffy on Saw Palmetto. It's supposed to block DHT like finastride, but without any of the nasty side-effects. But that just doesn't make much sense to me. You would probably need to take a ridiculous dosage to stop DHT as well as finastride does, and then you're likely opening yourself up to the same side-effects. The Biotin definitely works, though - makes my hair and nails grow faster, and my nails are a lot stronger - my hair is, too, but that's from a combination of Biotin and Minoxidil.

The foam is definitely better to use, because you can use it like a styling moose - you can't be as liberal with it as normal moose, though. The foam containers are tiny (I had three foam containers and used them all in under a month). The 'syringe' thing you get with the liquid is a big selling point and does moderate your usage. I understand people's complaints about the liquid being slightly oily, but it's really not as bad as I thought it would be IMO - you wait about an hour, and it's completely dry, unnoticeable. I live in Australia, so maybe the dry humidity helps, but that's been my experience in any case. The trouble of having an 'oily' head has never, ever been a problem for me. If I put it on a little too soon after a shower, it's more noticeable - but if I put it on after I have given my hair time to dry, there's no issue whatsoever.

I can definitely relate to going over people's houses for the night, people coming over your house for the night, travelling somewhere and covertly putting it on without anybody knowing, putting it on while out camping - that's annoying - but friends found out I have been using it after the third month (one of them went to my bathroom to go to the toilet, saw it sitting there in clear daylight), commented that it's working. I am a lot less embarrassed about it as a result.

The problem with Rogaine is, of course, that it was successful for me, but apparently it isn't successful for everybody - and the only way to tell if it works is by using it yourself.

When I started using it, I gave myself six months to see a worthwhile improvement - well, that's clearly been the case, so I will continue to use it. But if I wasn't happy with it after that allotted time (if it didn't work at all, or I was just dealing with four extra hairs), then yeah, I would've binned it and never spoken about it again, aha.

edit:

btw, looking at my receipts, I ordered the foam 22/02/2016. I didn't get it until March, though. I ordered the liquid (this is when I started taking Biotin and Saw Palmetto, too) 30/03/2016 and didn't get it until April. Hopefully that timeline helps.

[pajason]

I personally didn't have any shedding when i started rogaine. In fact, I had bad shedding before I started rogaine.
While I am personally at a crossroads on rogaine, to a person who hasn't signed themselves into the hidden contract of using rogaine, i'd say its not worth it, even if you are balding.
It's a lot of money especially for the real stuff, money you could save towards a hair transplant. It is really tedious, and really has emasculated my routine. I can't just brush and jump in bed, or just shower and head off to work. Now I have to do this shit 5 minutes a day, wash my hands, and wipe drippings off of my face. It also makes traveling and spending time at girls houses a chore, I stress that I cannot bring my rogaine or that I need to hide it and use it without others seeing.

Im gonna say don't do it. Especially if you have to apply it to your whole head, not just a target area.

Agree unless you have a spot on top of the head its simply not worth it. I don't know anyone out of 10 or so guys who have had any real success except for my brother who has kept all his hair on top(didn't help with the hairline but for him his crown is as thick as it was when he was 20) My advice is get on propecia and pray it works. It will halt or slow loss for most and will regrow for some.

[cloudzero2006]

This doesn't fill me with great confidence :/

So far i'm only at the end of my 2nd week, but missed a day or so so going to try and get back on track. I was looking into the fin tablets but they come with side effects, low risk I know but not sure if I want to take that risk?

[bmoreno515]

Hey man do you have any photos of your hair before your hair loss was noticeble?

[Parker317]

Hey Cloud Zero,

Sorry you had to join us. I'm 27 and new to the site as well. If you're afraid of the shedding phase, I recommend using Toppik - It will cover up the areas and your hair will actually look BETTER than before.
Also, I just started finasteride - rogaine just wasnt enough to STOP the hairloss, it only promotes new growth. Paired together though they are great.

Also make sure you get some Nizoral shampoo and use it three times a week and leave it in for at least 5 minutes.

What I didn't like about Minoxidil is what JohnDoe said, the stickyness - dripping , having to use it all the time. I personally only use it at night before bed..It makes my hair greasy in the morning..So I'm only getting 50% effectiveness.

Best of luck to you man.

[Parker317]

As for the fin tablets, I just started a week ago with no side effects, knock knock. I would say keeping my hair is worth my confidence and the very small risk.

[Prop46]

Experiment with different brands / types of Minox... I found that the foams made my hair really greasy.

[cloudzero2006]

Hey Cloud Zero,

Sorry you had to join us. I'm 27 and new to the site as well. If you're afraid of the shedding phase, I recommend using Toppik - It will cover up the areas and your hair will actually look BETTER than before.
Also, I just started finasteride - rogaine just wasnt enough to STOP the hairloss, it only promotes new growth. Paired together though they are great.

Also make sure you get some Nizoral shampoo and use it three times a week and leave it in for at least 5 minutes.

What I didn't like about Minoxidil is what JohnDoe said, the stickyness - dripping , having to use it all the time. I personally only use it at night before bed..It makes my hair greasy in the morning..So I'm only getting 50% effectiveness.

Best of luck to you man.

Thanks for the reply man. So how long have you been on the fin for? I'm tempted to start that too alongside the minoxidil, that's what was originally recommended to me by the hair clinic but the price was too much so I turned down the fin but realised I can save around £200 getting it elsewhere. So no side effects then no? I understand there's a small risk but I think I'd rather keep my hair and face the risk than lose it to be honest

I agree the minoxidil can be a pain, recently I even missed up to a week worth of application just through being away in the evening and getting home late etc but I also prefer to put it on before bed as if I do in the morning it can leave my hair looking abit of a mess

I'll see how I go I guess

Also, have you seen any results so far?

[Parker317]

I'm the same way, I've gone days/weeks without applying Rogaine - so it's my fault if I don't see the results. As for the Fin, I just started it literally two weeks ago. My hair feels a little thicker and I don't get the dreaded MPB itch much anymore. Even if it hasn't produced any results, just being on it alone, knowing something is stopping the DHT helps my stress levels with my hair tremendously.

I wouldn't say I've seen any new growth on my regimen thus far, but I feel that the hairloss has really slowed down. I'm going to see where I am at the end of the year.
As for the fin, I know it can be pricey and the side effects you research online scare you - but like you said, it's worth keeping your hair in some instances. I for one, haven't had any side effects. (knock knock)
I still go to the gym three times a week and have sex with my GF just as normal as always. I kind of am actually enjoying it - it's boosted my confidence.

Best of luck to you. Feel free to message me with any other questions or reply here.

[SpanBan55]

Belgravia Hair Loss - Minoxidil - HATE IT

Hi

I am a 36 year old female and have been using minoxidil 5% since 2014! When I first started using it I was so stressed and thats' what was causing my hair loss, I went through agony for a year with bald patches and no explanation from any doctors, hair specialists etc. I finally found Belgravia and started the treatment , I didn't really have a great deal of shedding because i had already lost so much It has taken 4 years for my hair to grow and get think again, now I had an email from Belgravia asking if I required the treatment again as it had come to the end of the cycle. I said Yes as I was scared if having any loss, BIGGEST mistake I made as I was so happy with my hair!! I now am going through my second bottle and my hair is starting to get bald patches again, I have lost over half , way over half and super stressed about it all again. I am disgusted in Belgravia as when I called to say I didn't need the treatment they said I HAD to continue to muse it or the shedding will get worse not only that it will last 3 months!!! If this continue for another week alone I will not have any hair left. They were rude and made me feel like I am now locked in for life, £50.00 a month is a lot of money that doesn't need to be spent I will finish my 3 month supply and probably wean my self off it. I have been watching videos of Doterra oils and supplements and how much that helps with hair growth naturally. I have started taking doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack supplements along with Rosemary , lavender oil in my hair, there are proven facts that this works with even alopecia patients. I truly believe it's all a massive trap to buy from another major pharma company!! I now will probably have to wait another 4 years from my hair to get where it was again, I hope this helps anyone going through what I have and still am, I truly thought I had seen the light and it was the end of all hair stresses, Do not rely on Belgravia Minoxidil!!